Nearly 500 people, made up of children, parents and grandparents, attended Kids Can Fly’s 17th annual Storybook Breakfast fundraiser on Saturday, February 3, 2024.
With the support of nearly 100 volunteers, the character meet-and-greet breakfast was hosted over two sittings, seating 250 guests each, with a buffet-style breakfast of pancakes, sausages, and a variety of fruit.
Each table in the room featured a theme of a popular book such as Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” Norman Bridwell’s “Clifford,” and Sherri Duskey Rinker’s “Mighty, Mighty Construction Site,” too name a few.
“It’s just a great event where the kids get to come out, eat some breakfast and meet all of the storybook characters and popular characters that they know from books and TV,” said Becca McLellan, Executive Director of Kids Can Fly. “We do this event because we really love the community and it’s also a fundraiser, so we raise money through sponsorships for this event and we have raised $32,000 for Kids Can Fly programs.”
From the Cat in the Hat to Princess Ariel, the Lorax, Peter Pan, Captain America, Moana and more, around 40 various storybook characters spent their time making their way around the room to interact and take photos with the children.
“Every child in attendance also gets an autograph book and all the characters will sign it for them, there’s also colouring pages and information about the sponsors in there as well,” said McLellan. “The kids also have a chance to get a printed picture taken with characters like Bluey, Mario and Paw Patrol’s Marshall in the front hall too, so it’s all just a lot of fun for everyone.”
On the way out of the event, each child received a goodie bag with a signed copy of “Great Too,” a story inspired by Walter Gretzky that was written by Glen Gretzky and Lauri Holomis.
While many were attending the breakfast for the first time, others were happy to make their return to the annual event and support the cause.
“This is our third time coming to the event, and there were also two or three years that were virtual where they came to your door with a little gift. As a mom, with some of the other events like this, you have to line up and wait a long time to get a picture, but here, everyone gets an opportunity because the characters come by the tables,” said Pam Collins. “It also goes to such a great cause. We were part of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program where we received books every month for five years, so now we’re giving back by coming out to breakfast. I think it’s a great event and the kids just love it.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
